Caligŭla, Gaius Caesar Augustus
Germanĭcus
, son of Germanicus and Agrippina, was born A.D. 12, in the camp, probably in Germany, and
was brought up among the legions (
Calig. 8). Here he received from the soldiers
the surname of Caligula, from his being arrayed, when quite young, like a common soldier, and
wearing a pair of
caligae, a kind of shoe or covering for the feet used
chiefly by the common soldiers. This was done in order to secure towards him the goodwill of
the troops. Caligula himself, however, disliked the appellation in after-days, and preferred
that of Gaius Caesar, which is also his historical name. Upon his father's death he returned
from Syria, and lived with his mother till her exile, when he removed to the residence of
Livia Augusta, his great-grandmother, whose funeral oration he delivered in public, while he
still wore the
praetexta. He afterwards remained in the family of his
grandmother, Antonia, until his twentieth year, when, being invited to Capreae by the emperor,
he assumed the dress proper to manhood, but without the customary ceremonies.
In the court of his grandfather, his naturally mean and vicious temper appeared in a servile
compliance with the caprices of those in power, in a wanton love of cruelty towards the
unfortunate, and in the most abandoned and unprincipled debauchery; so that Tiberius observed
that he was
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Caligula. (Bronze bust in Paris.)
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breeding a second Phaëthon for the destruction of the world. Tiberius had,
by his testament, appointed his two grandsons, Gaius Caesar and Tiberius Gemellus, the latter
the son of Drusus, joint heirs of the Empire. The first act of Caligula, however, was to
assemble the Senate for the purpose of declaring the invalidity of the will; and this being
readily effected, and Tiberius Gemellus being declared too young to rule, Gaius Caesar
Caligula was immediately proclaimed emperor. This appointment was received with the most
unbounded joy both at Rome and in the provinces, and the conduct of the new prince seemed at
first to promise one of the most auspicious of reigns. But this was all dissimulation on his
part—a dissimulation which he had learned under his wily predecessor—for
Caligula esteemed it prudent to assume the appearance of moderation, liberality, and justice,
till he should be firmly seated on the throne, and freed from all apprehension lest the claims
of the young Tiberius might be revived on any offence having been taken by the Senate. He
interred, in the most honourable manner, the remains of his mother and of his brother Nero,
set free all state prisoners, recalled the banished, and forbade all prosecutions for treason.
He conferred on the magistrates free and independent power. Although the will of Tiberius had
been declared, by the Senate, to be null and void, he fulfilled every article of it, with the
exception only of that above mentioned. When he was chosen consul, he took his uncle Claudius
as his colleague. Thus he distinguished the first eight months of his reign by many actions
dictated perhaps by hypocrisy, but which appeared magnanimous and noble to
the eyes of the world, when he fell, on a sudden, dangerously ill, in consequence, as has been
imagined, of a love-potion given him by his mistress, Milonia Caesonia (whom he afterwards
married), with a view to securing his inconstant affections. On recovering from this malady,
whether weary by this time of the restraints of hypocrisy, or actually deranged in his
intellect by the inflammatory effects of the potion which he had taken (
Juv.vi. 614), the emperor threw off all appearance of virtue and moderation, as well
as all prudential considerations, and acted on every occasion with the mischievous violence of
unbridled passions and wanton power; so that the tyranny of Tiberius was forgotten in the
enormities of Caligula. The most exquisite tortures served him for enjoyments. During his
meals he caused criminals, and even innocent persons, to be stretched on the rack and
beheaded; the most respectable citizens were daily executed. In the madness of his arrogance
he even considered himself a god, and caused the honours to be paid to him which were paid to
Apollo, to Mars, and even to Iupiter. He built a temple to his own divinity. At one time he
wished that the whole Roman people had but one head, that he might be able to cut it off at a
single blow. He frequently repeated the words of Attius,
Oderint dum metuant.
One of his greatest follies was the building of a bridge of vessels between Baiae and Puteoli,
in imitation of that of Xerxes over the Hellespont. He himself consecrated this grand
structure with great splendour; and, after he had passed the night following in a revel with
his friends, in order to do something extraordinary before his departure he caused a crowd of
persons, without distinction of age, rank, or character, to be seized and thrown into the sea.
On his return he entered Rome in triumph, because, as he said, he had conquered nature
herself. After this he made preparations for an expedition against the Germans; passed, with
more than 200,000 men, over the Rhine; but returned after he had travelled a few miles, and
that without having seen an enemy. Such was his terror that when he came to the river, and
found the bridge obstructed by the crowd upon it, he caused himself to be passed over the
heads of the soldiers. He then went to Gaul, which he plundered with unexampled rapacity. Not
content with the considerable booty thus obtained, he sold all the property of his sisters
Agrippina and Livilla, whom he banished. He also sold the furniture of the old court, the
clothes of Augustus, Agrippina, etc. Before he left Gaul he declared his intention of going to
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Coin of Caligula, with his head and that of Augustus (the latter crowned).
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Britain. He collected his army on the coast, embarked in a magnificent galley, but
returned when he had hardly left the land, drew up his forces, ordered the signal of battle to
be sounded, and commanded the soldiers to fill their helmets with shells, while he cried out,
“This booty, ravished from the sea, is fit for my palace and the Capitol.”
When he returned to Rome he was desirous of a triumph on account of his achievements,
but contented himself with an ovation. Discontented with the Senate, he resolved to destroy
the greater part of the members and the most distinguished men of Rome, as was proved by two
books which were found after his death, wherein the names of the proscribed were noted down,
and of which one was entitled
Gladius (Sword), and the other
Pugillus (Dagger). He became reconciled to the Senate, however, when he found
it worthy of him. He supported public brothels and gaming-houses in the palace, and received
himself the entrance-money of the visitors. His horse, named Incitatus, was his favourite.
This horse he made one of his priests, and, by way of insult to the Republic, declared it also
consul. It was kept in an ivory stable and fed from a golden manger, and when it was invited
to feast at the emperor's table gilded oats were served up in a golden basin of exquisite
workmanship. He had even the intention of destroying the poems of Homer, and was on the point
of removing the works and images of Vergil and Livy from all libraries—those of the
former because, as he said, he was destitute of genius and learning; those of the latter
because he was not to be depended upon as an historian. Caligula's morals were, from his youth
upward, abominably corrupt, but after he had married and repudiated several wives, Caesonia
retained a permanent hold on his affections. His extravagance equalled his cruelty, for in a
single year he squandered the entire savings of Tiberius, some $28,000,000, a favourite
amusement of his being to stand on a balcony and shovel goldpieces into the street. At length,
a number of conspirators, at the head of whom were Chaerea and Cornelius Sabinus, both
tribunes of the praetorian cohorts, murdered him in the twenty-ninth year of his age, and the
fourth of his reign, A.D. 41. His life was written by Suetonius. See Baring-Gould's
Tragedy of the Caesars (London, 1893).
